When this album was released in 1995, jungle ruled London's dance clubs and no reggae producer was in a better position to make the most of the situation than
Mad Professor, whose Ariwa studio had already been a hotbed of proto-ragga, digital roots, and lovers rock for close to a decade. And the frustrating thing about this album is that at first it sounds like he is making the most of the great opportunity this situation afforded him: it opens with "Dub in a di Jungle," a brilliant lovers-dancehall-jungle fusion that juxtaposes the smooth singing of an unidentified female vocalist (it sounds like
Kofi singing "I'm in Love With a Dreadlocks") with the energetic chatting of an also-unidentified DJ, all of it powered by complex and funky jungle breakbeats and messed up in brilliantly dubwise style. Unfortunately, the remainder of the program consists of accomplished but generic jungle and digital dub tracks that will certainly appeal to fans of both genres but that come as a letdown after the brilliance of the opening tune. All of it is perfectly fine (and "Doppler in de Jungle" does come close to hitting the same level of excitement as "Dub in a di Jungle" had), but none of it is exceptional. This album is certainly worth having, but it's not worth going to great lengths to find. ~ Rick Anderson